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Introducing the OWL
A philosophical tool for trust
Owls are pretty wise. At least, so goes the common association. We associate owls with wisdom. I think we’ve done so since Ancient Greek mythology was prominent, where the bird was the sacred companion and symbol of Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
I’m going to help myself the warm connotations of this wisdom. Over the next few pieces on here, I’m going to be expanding and detailing research that I’ve done in the philosophy of trust, and explaining how this gives rise to the OWL test for trust: ought, would, lean.
OWL.
If it was good enough for Athena, it’s good enough for me.
I’ll also be explaining how we can use the OWL test to help us to navigate the world.
We should start digging into some of the research, and by thinking a bit about a case.
The Ought account
Priya runs procurement for a mid-sized manufacturer. Her usual freight firm, Harbour Freight, has a contract to deliver component pallets within 48 hours of an order. Over three years, they have missed that window twice in roughly two hundred orders.
Priya has a large order coming up. For this month only, she sends the work to a cheaper rival, because it is running a promotional rate. Harbour Freight gets…
